The Other Voice
by notcrackers
Summary: After the traumatizing final match of Kuroko's third year in Teikō, a whole new side of him was born. "I can help you." It said. But the moment Kuroko trusted those words, darkness started to engulf him slowly until the only thing that's left was the thirst for revenge. MultiplePersonality!Kuroko
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers: I do not own Kuroko no Basket**

**Warning: Multiple personality disorder, slightly disturbing, slightly dark!Kuroko, OOC.**

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**The Other Voice**

_Chapter One_

_The First Miracle_

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"That goal… was to achieve _this_?"

Kuroko couldn't unlatch his eyes from the score board.

111 – 11

Shifting his gaze, he found him. Ogiwara Shigehiro. His precious childhood friend. His first friend in basketball.

He parted his lips, trying to call out his friend. But he felt his voice gone when he saw Ogiwara's face. His eyes. Betrayed, disappointed, shocked - broken. Without any words Kuroko could practically hear the boy's questions along with the pain lacing each word,

'_Why? Kuroko, Why?_'

_I don't know_

'_Are we really not worth it?_'

_No. You're worth it, Ogiwara-kun. Every one of your team._

But _they_ didn't think so. And Kuroko knew it _very_ well.

He saw Ogiwara as he turned away from his gaze, away from the eyes of the audience, from the eyes of his school's supporter. Away from the eyes of those _monsters_.

Kuroko felt the stung in his eyes. With a blurry vision Kuroko eyed his teammates – his _friends_. Akashi's back caught his sight and he tried to reach upon him. He wanted to ask him. He wanted him to explain why would he do - _that_?

Akashi – and the others – just broke his and Ogiwara's promise. And he could practically _feel_ it shatter as Generation of Miracles stomped upon it, as they _crushed_ it under their selfish feet.

Kuroko felt his body shook. His legs suddenly became weak and wobbly until they almost failed to support his body. He swallowed an incoming sob as his eyes betrayed him with the flow of tears streaming down his cheeks.

And after years of being strong, he cried.

Even after he arrived at his house, he sat down on his bed and the pain in his heart - and head - wouldn't go away, along with the words from his teammates.

"_You don't care when the opponent has nothing to do with you."_

"_It'll be boring if you keep scoring…" _

"_To play seriously even though they're much weaker than us… That's really boring."_

"_It's just that they were __**really**__ too weak."_

And once again his childhood friend's broken_shocked_**crushed **expression appeared in his head. Kuroko gritted his teeth, clenched his fist as incoherent noises come out of his throat.

_What is winning?_

He thought as sleep came slowly upon him.

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**.**

That night Kuroko had nightmare.

The horrifying – traumatizing match was replayed. The only difference was that he also played in the game.

Ogiwara would walk over to him, who was standing there in front of the score board, away from his friends who were lamely celebrating their third National championship. The orange-head shook his shoulders weakly, hands still trembling.

_Why?_

Kuroko would stay silent. His aquamarine eyes were fixed upon his (suffering) childhood friend.

_Why didn't you stop them?_

The question felt like a sharp knife to his heart. He knew his team would have something in mind for the final match, something that was better served cold and merciless. He should've known, he should've guessed. He could've prevented it.

But he didn't.

He saw his friend walked away from him, and with a last glance, Ogiwara stared at him in the eyes. Disappointment. Ogiwara was disappointed in him.

Kuroko fell to his knees, suddenly felt them become weak. Tears poured down from his eyes. He clutched his head as a sudden shot of pain pierced his brain. It seemed like he forgot that injury the evil twins caused. Almost pulling his light blue locks, he cried on his own.

_It hurts, it hurts,_ he'd say.

_Physically, mentally, everything hurts_

His vision became dark, black spots slowly filling his eyesight. He'd feel the temperature decrease drastically, and he found himself alone in the cold darkness. Kuroko raised his head, his arm now reaching towards nothing – something – anything–

_Please, please_

He'd beg,

_Help me…_

And he felt his fingertips graze something warm.

The warmth engulfed his hand, and it pulled him to stand up. Kuroko did, weakly. His blue eyes found a sudden light in the darkness. He stared, eyes squinting at the brightness, and found himself become more confused.

The somehow familiar figure before him smiled, eyes narrowing slightly.

_I can help you._

Kuroko's eyes widened.

_Who… are you?_

But it didn't answer him.

_They hurt you so much, Tetsuya. But you deserve none of it. I can make them pay for that._

Could it really?

Kuroko only wanted his friends back. He only wanted to see them laugh together in utter happiness and joy after a match they'd won with hard work. He wanted to have fun with his favorite sport.

But they crushed him. They even crushed his friend.

Ogiwara didn't deserve that. Even Kuroko thought he himself didn't deserve it. Now he felt lost, he felt useless, broken, and dead inside. He lost Aomine, he lost Ogiwara, he lost his teammates and he lost his muse, basketball.

_I can bring them back for you._

_Ah, so that's who it is._ He almost smiled when realization hit him.

The owner of that voice was none other than his savior.

Kuroko felt himself lean into the warmth helplessly, and it embraced him protectively. It smiled. Kuroko raised his head to see the face of his savior – He gasped lightly when he stared right into his own pair of familiar aquamarines. His savior was…himself?

_Don't you worry, Tetsuya._

His own voice cooed comfortingly.

_Trust me, everything will be alright._

He did.

And Kuroko fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

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A few months later.

"We're having a practice match with Kaijo high?!"

The members of Seirin basketball club stood there in utter surprise after they hear the news from their coach. Even Kuroko.

He'd joined the team more or less a week ago. Despite the team's first disbelief when finding out his title as the infamous Phantom Sixth Man of Generation of Miracles, they'd finally accepted him rather well.

The light-blue haired boy had found his new light, too. Kagami Taiga, a very fierce male with a somehow nostalgic personality; he reminded him too much of his old partner – his old light. But now everything had changed. Aomine changed most drastically.

Long before high school started, he'd swore to himself he'll beat Generation of Miracles in his own way, with his own weapon. And confidently, he believed that Kagami, along with Seirin, are the best weapon.

After telling his new light about the infamous group of geniuses, Kagami became so pumped up ever since and most likely he prayed almost every night for a match against one of the prodigies.

And today, Kagami Taiga's prayers were answered.

"How'd you get Kaijo to have a practice match with us anyway?!" Hyuuga demanded.

"Doesn't matter, right? And you guys get to play one of the Generation of Miracles, Kise Ryouta! Isn't that great?" The coach smiled, eyes filled with both joy and mischief. "And aren't you happy, Kagami-kun?"

The red head smirked. "Hell yeah I am!" excitement was clear in his reply, Kuroko noted.

But instead of being thrilled, as this could be a chance to prove his basketball to Kise-kun, Kuroko felt something negative clawing inside him. Not like a bad feeling, more like anticipation, and almost like a blood-thirst – But Kuroko dismissed the feeling, trying to focus on his coach's words.

Riko was suddenly interrupted by the squeals of girls entering the gym.

The basketball players turned their heads to look at the commotion – only to find an eye-attracting and tall – not to mention familiar – blonde standing inside the crowd.

"Kise Ryouta?!"

At that moment, Kuroko heard someone laugh in his ears, voice hushed and almost inaudible. He ignored it and focused on the familiar teen.

"Long time no see, Kise-kun."

The model's face lit up when he saw him. "Kurokocchi!" He looked at the other Seirin members, face apologetic. "And uh... Can you give me five minutes?"

After promptly taking care of the fangirls, Kise stepped forward to the gathered team who stared at him in awe.

"Why are you here?" Hyuuga asked, a bit dumb-struck.

The blonde just grinned. "After I heard our next opponent is Seirin, I remembered that Kurokocchi went here. I just want to say hi to my best friend at middle school."

_Best friend_

For some reason, Kuroko had a strong urge to grimace at that word. And once again, he heard a voice, words of distaste and disgust creating a disturbing melody in his hears.

"Not more than the others," He replied monotonously.

"Meany!" Kise wailed, face contorting into a (fake) sad expression, his hands playfully rubbing the non-existent tears streaming down his face.

The team interacted with him for a while, about how surprised they were when they found out about Kise's lack of experience in basketball, about how Kise admitted that he's the worst of the bunch.

But then their chit chat was interrupted by Kagami Taiga.

"Ow! What was that for?" Kise frowned, rubbing his hand which just blocked the ball rather unprepared. Kagami just threw the orange ball straight to Kise without any warnings, which angered Riko.

"Kagami!" She screeched, scolding the freshman but only to be ignored.

"Sorry to interrupt your reunion," The redhead began. "But I'm pretty sure you're not here only to say hi. How about you play with me, pretty boy?"

And play they did.

And lose Kagami did.

The lost must be quite humiliating for the redhead, Kuroko thought, Kise effortlessly copied his move and beat him till he crashed to the ground.

Kise even dared to ask him to transfer to Kaijo with him. Even adding something about the bluehead's talent is a waste in this place.

Still cocky as ever, huh.

His blue eyes stared right to the victorious blonde, irritation bubbled inside him and for some reason the whispers in his ears grew louder and he now could make out the words.

_Look at him, Tetsuya, so arrogant_

_Shall we teach him a lesson?_

The familiar voice kept on calling him, telling him what to do until he forgot to question how the hell he could hear voices in his ears.

Apparently the anger in his eyes became so clear because Kise was quite taken aback by the look his friend was giving to him.

"Kurokocchi...?"

And Kuroko snapped out.

"Yes?"

"Transfer to Kaijo, with me." He repeated his offer.

"Ah." Kuroko said. "I'm sorry, but I have to decline your offer."

"But why?! Kurokocchi, this isn't like you. Victory is everything, remember?"

Ah. The bluehead heard the voices again, it grew more impatient, and angrier, and Kuroko found himself clench his hand in irritation.

_Victory, victory my ass_

Once again his stare managed to make Kise flinch, he even stepped back slightly as his honey brown eyes widened.

"K-Kurokocchi - "

"Victory isn't everything." The sixth man murmured, voice low, and dangerous. Kise, along with Seirin almost shivered upon hearing his voice.

"Kuroko-kun...?" Riko stepped forward, trying take a look at the freshman.

"We'll beat you at the practice match." He suddenly said, raising his chin. Eyes determined, different from his expression earlier.

Kise, albeit still confused, just smirked at his former teammate. "We're not going to lose."

"We'll see about that, then." Kagami joined them, a big smirk on his face, pretty much fired up by the challenge.

_We'll teach him a lesson, right Tetsuya?_

The darkness in his heart grew.

_Yes we will._

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**A/N: Ta-da! Omg I post a new story asfghjkl. But don't worry, I'll still update Fallacious. It's just, I haven't finished the next chapter yet. hehe.**

**So, this'll be a retelling of KnB in which Kuroko has a MTD (Multiple Personality Disorder). I've read some stuffs about the said illness, and I don't think what I write will be really accurate cause I'll change it to fit in the story. I think it's kind of different with Akashi's too. Oh well.**

**I hope you like it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimers: Nope. Not mine.**

**Warnings: OOC!Kuroko, slightly disturbing, and angst.**

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**The Other Voice**

_Chapter Two_

_Betrayal_

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"So this is Kaijo High?"

"It's huuge!"

"You could tell when a school dedicates themself to sports, huh,"

Seirin gaped at the large building, scanning the place in awe. Meanwhile, Kuroko was staring at Kagami, who clearly looked like a person who didn't get a sleep at all. Later he found that his guess was correct. Kagami admitted he was too excited for today's practice match he couldn't even get a wink of sleep.

Kuroko looked at him incredulously. "What are you, an elementary school kid?"

"Oh, shut up!"

Cue laughter from the team.

"Oii!"

The teenagers turned their head, and they saw a certain blonde running towards them with a big smile on his face, waving his hands rather giddily.

"This place is huge, so I thought I'd come and accompany you guys to the gym," Kise said. Riko thanked him, bowing while Kise only smiled before running up to Kuroko. A certain redhead yelled at him, trying to get his attention while Kise ignored him.

"Kurokocchi... Ever since you rejected me, I've been crying into my pillow every night!" The blonde wailed, rubbing his eyes to imitate his said nightly routine.

Kuroko furrowed his eyebrows.

"Can you please stop being sarcastic?"

Ah.

The bluehead wasn't surprised when Kise's happy-go-lucky smile melted into a dark smirk.

"Actually, I'm more curious about the guy that made Kurokocchi said those words."

He turned to Kagami.

"This is not about the title 'Generation of Miracles' anymore, you know. But I can't ignore such blunt challenge, I'm not mature enough to let it slide.

"I'm going to crush you with all I have." Said Kise darkly, his ever confident and intimidating smirk still plastered on his handsome face.

Despite being fired up by the obvious challenge, Kagami only grinned wryly. "Good to hear that."

Unfortunately, Kise wasn't aware that it was going to be quite the opposite of his words.

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The moment Seirin entered the gym, they were instantly baffled, and then irked by the arranged conditions for their match.

They were playing half-court because 'there's nothing the team could learn from this match', that was quoted directly from Kaijo's coach, Takeuchi's mouth. In other words, the practice match was just a side-show for them.

It took one Hyuuga and one Mitobe to hold Riko from kicking the blob of fat in the ass.

Kise, after being forbidden to play, convinced his coach to let him at least be on the bench. After Takeuchi allowed him, Kise immediately ran to Seirin to inform them about the situation.

"Don't worry, if you beat them good, they will put me in the game immediately." The blonde reassured them, pointing towards the group of regulars that were going to play against the more amateur team.

"Besides," he scoffed, eyes straight to Kagami. "If you can't even do that, don't go off saying you want to beat Generation of Miracles."

A certain light blue head clenched his fists.

_Ah, isn't such arrogance firing you up, Tetsuya?_

Indeed it was.

Right after the curtain opened, Kagami gave his breath-taking performance by dunking and then breaking down Kaijo's goal, pressuring Coach Takeuchi to let them play full court _and_ to put Kise in the game.

Kise then returned the favor by copying Kagami's dunk, which succeeded to irk Seirin.

And that's when the game begun.

In the beginning, Kuroko and Kagami did surprise Kaijo with their incredible team-work. But slowly Kaijo found a way to nullify them, and with Kise knowing Kuroko's weakness and copying Kagami's moves, Seirin had a tough time.

Later, after Kagami found out Kise's weakness - which revealed to be Kuroko - Seirin made a plan to block Kise and steal the ball from him. And fortunately, it succeeded. Kuroko's back tip made Kise - along with Kaijo - stand on the edge.

With the score gap decreasing, the more amateur team was more motivated and kept on creating unexpected plans for the blue elites. They even blocked Kise's shoot.

Kise glared at Kagami as the redhead started to run for a fast break - oh no he won't let him - he turned his body to run towards the other goal -

Only to have his hand slap a certain light blue haired player.

Kuroko grunted as he fell to the ground, his teammates and coach already running towards the wounded boy.

Kise stared at his friend in horror – his head covered in fresh_fresh_**red** blood as Seirin's coach demanded for medical kit.

He just hurt Kurokocchi.

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"Kuroko-kun can't play anymore." Riko started, looking at her teammates gravely. She continued to explain their next plan and tactic for the rest of the game, but Kuroko couldn't hear any of them. His ears muted all of the words and he could only focus on the cold towel over his eyes.

_Only half of the game and I'm already out, huh..._

Kuroko moved the cloth, trying to peek. In his peripheral vision he could see his team. Their faces were thick with desperation. Seirin – along with Kuroko – always knew it was nearly impossible for them to win in this condition.

He could have helped. But he didn't.

Well, more like _now_ he couldn't.

Putting the towel back, he found himself once again in the darkness. Pitch black, and cold. The fresh wound on his head ached every time and then, and he could only hiss at the pain.

He wanted to blame Kise for hurting him. Kuroko knew it was accidental, but he couldn't help it. This practice match against Kaijo – against Kise Ryota – was a _very_ important starting point for him and Kagami – also for Seirin. And that one little slap ruined it all.

He felt angry. For Kise. For not being able to help his friends _again._

He felt useless.

_No you're not._

Kuroko almost flinched at the warm hand caressing his forehead. Oh how the touch was so familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on it – Who was it? – But that voice. He was sure he heard it before –

_I told you we will teach him a lesson, __didn't I?_

Kuroko moved his arm, reaching for the piece of cloth covering his eyes, he wanted to see the speaker – but a hand stopped him. He heard the voice chuckle lightly.

_Just sleep, Tetsuya. You hurt your head pretty bad, you know?_

_But –_

_Trust me._

Feeling defeated, Kuroko only nodded in the darkness, wondering if the source of voice could see him or not – but oh well. His head was too hurt to think about that.

Instead, he put his trust in that voice.

**.**

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"If only Kuroko-kun could play – Kuroko-kun?!"

The coach gaped at the already limping figure beside her. After a few heavy steps, the bluehead finally straightened his back, now looking healthier than ever, despite the bandages circling around his head.

"Kuroko-kun I didn't mean it – You can't play, you're still – "

"Coach," He began, voice low. "You can't win without me."

The way Kuroko said those words - almost arrogant and underestimating - almost made Riko want to give a Boston Crab to the younger male. But she knew he was right. They needed him to win. And they needed to win.

"Fine, then." She murmured - she could punish him later – before running up to the referee, asking for a member change.

Riko saw the look on her team's faces as they felt both glad and worried for Kuroko getting back in the game. Riko saw Kaijo's captain discussing about the return of the invisible player.

But what Riko didn't see was the dangerous look on Kuroko's face.

**.**

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When Kuroko opened his eyes, he saw a plate of steak.

A huge one, to be exact.

Blinking confusedly, he turned his head around, and he saw his teammates staring at the plates of huge meat in front of them, some holding the cutleries, preparing to consume it.

What the –

"What happened to the match?"

All heads turned to him.

"What are you talking about, Kuroko?" Hyuuga asked. "We won the match."

"...What?"

"But really though, that buzzer beater you did was amazing!" Koganei yelled with a grin, giving him a thumb up.

"Tch," Kagami grunted with a mouthful of meat. He swallowed the food. "To think that I had prepared myself to dunk the ball…"

"C'mon, Kagami, at least we did it!"

Kuroko tilted his head, definitely not catching up with the conversation.

_He_ did a buzzer beater…?

Riko stared at the freshman questioningly, before realizing the time limit of their steak-eating challenge. "Everyone! We'll discuss about this later, maybe it has something to do with Kuroko-kun's injury. Now we eat, your 30 minutes won't wait."

And with that, the team started on feasting their meats sulkily, except for Kagami who had started earlier than them.

Kuroko blinked. Confused was an understatement for his feelings right now. But after catching up with the terms of the restaurant's challenge he tried to eat his meal. He didn't want to pay 10.000 yen after all.

**.**

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**.**

Kise kicked a pebble, throwing the object a couple of feet away from him.

Suddenly his ears caught shouts of crowd from inside a building. He glanced at a restaurant near him - a steak restaurant. And inside, a familiar team was sitting there enjoying - or perhaps suffering over - their large meals.

Seirin.

Eyeing each member one by one, his gaze finally fixed on Kuroko.

Kurokocchi. His old mentor from middle school. One of his closest friends along with Aominecchi. For his unusual skill, Kise respected him.

Kuroko had always been the weakest in the group; the most fragile one. His stamina was obviously below average, his strength, speed, too. Well, his overall stats _were_ below average.

Hell, Kise still remembered how he really underestimated the light blue head when Momoi assigned him to be the newbie's mentor. But despite Kise's obvious distaste towards him, Kuroko kept on mentoring him patiently, he didn't even think about showing off his abilities in order to prove his worth in the team. No – Kuroko only did it when it was necessary, hence why Kise found out his abilities _in_ a match.

Kuroko always told him about his position in the team – which sometimes confused Kise. The boy didn't mind to be shadowed by the others if it could make the team stronger. If he could support them, wherever his position was, he would do it.

Despite all his flaws, Kurokocchi had Kise's utter respect. He always did.

Kise stared at the now eating bluenette. Face blank. Eyes empty. Ah, the usual Kurokocchi. The one that would reply his cheerful words with blunt remarks. The one that would complain when Kise hugged him randomly. The all too familiar Kurokocchi. Kise knew this one well.

But earlier, Kise was not even sure who the hell that number eleven from Seirin was.

_The blonde eyed his former teammate as he strode to the court. It seemed like Kuroko was still determined to win against him. Despite getting his excitement refueled, Kise couldn't help but feeling guilty and worried for the bluehead. His injury was Kise's fault, after all. Even though it was an accident, he still felt heavy to play against injured Kuroko._

"_Kurokocchi…"_

_Kise lower his head a little to get a look at his __short friend__. Kuroko had his fringe covering his eyes, but after he heard his name called, Kuroko raised his head a little, giving Kise a sight of his familiar pair of blue eyes –_

_And he found them glaring at him._

_Kise flinched. Kuroko's look was dark, and he didn't even know if he was exaggerating or not but they looked__ almost_murderous_. He could only stare at the other male in surprise as Kuroko wordlessly walked away from him. Was Kuroko angry at him?...Most likely._

_But those eyes – they looked as if he's disgusted with __him__!__ A whistle pulled him from his thoughts, and he realized they were going to start again._

_He's not going to lose._

_They played like usual; the only difference was Kuroko's revived stamina. The phantom player was now playing like the whole match just began. And that's due to resting for two whole quarters, Kasamatsu noted to the team._

_But Kaijo realized Seirin's determination hadn't waned at all. The more amateur team dribbled the ball fiercely, passed to the other accurately, and finally scored like their next point would be the last._

_Minute by minute, the annoyance grew within the blue elites. Seirin was catching up. Kise gritted his teeth when he saw the glassed player - Seirin's captain - shot a flawless three-point, equaling their scores at 82 - 82._

_The blonde felt anger bubbled inside him as he took the ball, and dunked it rather harshly. Ah, his childish side was showing. A side of him who got angered easily. A side of him who hated losing so much._

_"I won't lose to anyone," he murmured darkly, gaining terrified looks from almost everyone except for Kuroko. "Even to you, Kurokocchi."_

_The mentioned boy only smiled uncharacteristically. "We'll see."_

_That ticked him off._

_The game continued, and within ten seconds left, he raised his guards up and prepared himself for everything - offense - defense - anything to win the game!_

_His eyes found Kagami and Kuroko marching towards his goal._

_He placed himself in front of the duo, eyeing both players carefully. When the ball was passed to Kuroko's hand, the blonde almost jumped to Kagami's direction - since in a sense, he knew Kuroko would pass to the redhead._

_But that's when his nightmare began._

_Instead, the light blue head dribbled the ball, running towards the goal alone. Kise's brown eyes grew wide. Kurokocchi can't shoot for life!_

_Kise chased the shorter player to block him from doing anything. They must have had a trick behind their sleeves - was it a sudden pass? Alley oop? _

_"I won't let you!"_

_Kuroko's eyes met his – and Kise felt his whole body froze._

_His former teammate grinned at him, maniacal glint sparked in those aquamarine eyes of his._

_Kise's eyes widened._

_Kuroko shoot the ball in a simple lay-up._

_The whistle rang clearly in his ear, piercing his sense of hearing painfully. His body hit the ground with a loud thump. The wooden floor was hard against his figure, but he couldn't feel any pain anymore. He couldn't even move._

_In front of him stood the phantom sixth player of his former team. His honey colored eyes hesitantly met Kuroko's blue ones, and instantly chills went down his spine._

_Kuroko was looking down at him, eyes intimidating and crushing whatever left of his pride. And then unexpectedly, his lips parted to speak in a whisper,_

_"You lost, Kise-kun."_

_After one millisecond, the dark expression was wiped off and Kuroko was surrounded by his teammates, all shouting and cheering him happily; glad to have won the game._

_Until Kasamatsu kicked him to stand up, Kise couldn't even move a muscle._

_**.**_

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_**.**_

_Later in the locker room, his captain asked him where he had gone to after the match ended. Kise only stared at the older male, eyes hollow and soulless._

_Kasamatsu only sighed. He grabbed the freshman's shoulders and shook him._

_"That was your first lost, right?" He demanded, but his tone not as harsh as usual. "Now you better put the word 'revenge' in that empty head of yours." He turned to his whole team. _

"_We'll get them back in Interhigh!"_

_Kaijo shouted a chorused yell, their spirit didn't wan. Some of the seniors even came to Kise to give him a slap or two on his back._

_With that, life came back to Kise's eyes. And without him realizing, tears were already gathering in them and he had to swallow a sniffle or two before finally broke down sobbing on Kasamatsu's shoulder._

_Moriyama laughed while patting his back, Kasamatsu tried to remove the blond from his now damp shoulder while yelling at him for being such a cry baby, and Hayakawa scolded him for being a nuisance to the captain._

_Sure, Kaijo knew Kise Ryota cried because he just experienced his first lost in a match._

_But what they didn't know was he also lost a friend._

**.**

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**.**

The blonde still had his gaze fixed at the crowded restaurant. Originally, he wanted to comfort his former mentor about his sudden disappearance after their last Nationals. But the ache in his heart and his still stinging eyes told him not to.

It seemed like he had a long way to go to find the answer.

With one last longing, and despair-filled glance, he left.

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**A/N: OH MY GOD PEOPLE, YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. 24 FAVORITES AND 48 FOLLOWS?! This is the first time for me to receive this much with only one chapter, I swear. THANK YOU SO MUCH. But guys I'm sorry I'm pretty sure you realize the first half of the story pretty much follows the anime so... I know it's boring. But I really hope you at least enjoyed the rest.**

**AND I'M SORRY FOR HURTING KISE. ****I really feel sorry for him while writing this chapter. And i**t actually hurt me to write that last scene for him. I imagine he'd be really heartbroken to lose a friend - especially an important friend like Kuroko. I'M SORRY KISE BABY TT_TT

**Once again, thank you for the support! **

**crackers x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimers: Kuroko no Basket is not mine.**

**Warnings: OOC!Kuroko**

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**The Other Voice**

_Chapter Three_

_Past_

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"So, you don't remember anything from the match?" Riko asked.

"No..."

"I'll say it's from that injury. Maybe you did get a light concussion." Izuki suggested, examining Kuroko and his bandanged head.

"Then we should go visit the doctor again," the only female in the group said, obvious concern was painted on her face thickly.

"But he did seem drowsy when he played in the last quarter. I'm not surprised he forgot a thing or two. I mean, maybe Kuroko was half-concious back then." Kagami idly said. The other members of Seirin nodded in agreement, meanwhile Riko kept frowning.

"It could be more serious than that – " The female Coach insisted, still worrying about the freshman. But Hyuuga cut her words.

"Don't worry, Coach." He said, clamping a hand on Kuroko's shoulder. "He'll be fine. Right Kuroko?"

The bluenette only shrugged. "I suppose so."

"Besides, it's already late," Koganei joined, with Mitobe nodding wordlessly behind him. "And we're tired."

Riko, although not satisfied with the team's conclusion, only sighed in defeat. "Fine, we're going home. But if tomorrow you still get memory loss or something, we're going straight to the doctor."

Kuroko nodded. He himself didn't quite catch his own situation. They told him he'd be okay, that it was only a repercussion of his injury. But deep down he knew he would not be okay. That it was not only that. But the more he tried to think, the pain would throb. Voices would enter his ears, disallowing him to think any further.

Then he finally gave up thinking.

(He heard a mocking laugh.)

**.**

**.**

**.**

Hardly a week after practice match against the Blue Elites, Seirin were immediately showered with information and preparation for Interhigh. Intense and special practices were held and Kuroko could only wonder how he survived those monstrous trainings.

He counted down the weeks till the preliminaries, feeling alarmed yet somewhat thrilled. Weeks turned into days and within a blink, the competition finally started.

Their first match went well. The irritating tall foreigner got defeated by Kagami, and Kuroko couldn't help but notice his partner's jump. Sure, that redhead was tall, sure he had strong legs. But his jumps –

On their following matches, Kuroko observed him more – it was easy since for some reason Riko kept on benching him much to his dismay – and his presumption was confirmed.

Kagami could be possessing a special skill. Just like the Generation of Miracles.

It hadn't been proved yet. Maybe it was still developing. But Kuroko was certain he was far from wrong about his persumption. He scanned Kagami more, and noticed the said boy's expression. Ambitious. And hungry for power.

The phantom's eyes narrowed darkly. Oh how familiar he was with that expression. How it would grow into something more arrogant - just like how it was with a certain swarthy male.

His thoughts were interrupted with a slap on his back. "Oi." It was Kagami, in his hand was a can of Pocari.

"Not gonna rest or something? The coach is massaging our feet in there."

Kuroko raised an eyebrow. "You know I didn't even play a minute in the game, Kagami-kun."

Kagami laughed, joining him to sit on the bench. They were outdoor, a few meters away from the gym's entrance door. "I know, I know. Sucks to be you, eh? Got benched for the entire game. I bet you almost bribe the coach to let you play."

"...I've actually thought about the protein junks."

The redhead grimaced at the thought only. He took a big gulp from his drink. "Say, Kuroko."

Said boy turned his head to his friend.

"What do you think about that Midorima? You seem to dislike him."

How straightforward.

Seirin had met Midorima Shintaro and the whole Shuutoku members a few hours earlier, just after their first match that day. And Kuroko couldn't help but notice Kagami staring intently at his and Midorima's conversation.

_"Team play won't be enough to defeat me, Kuroko." The green-head said, pushing up his glasses while looking down at him. Kuroko narrowed his eyes._

_"We won't know that until we try."_

_"Now, now, stop right there." A person interfered their talk, gaining immediate attention from both party._

_"Takao," Midorima said, leering at his team-mate. _

_"Say, Seirin-san," The black-haired boy said to Kuroko. "You're a freshman, aren't you? So I guess your seniors haven't told you about this."_

_A mocking smirk appeared on Takao's lips._

_"Last year, Seirin was crushed by the three Kings. We tripled your score."_

_Both Kuroko and Kagami turned to their seniors who immediately lowered their heads in shame. _

_Takao's expression couldn't get any more smug as Midorima raised his chin arrogantly. _

_"Our difference in strength is too great. There's no way you can change that."_

"Midorima-kun is a weird person. And I didn't get along well with him from the start. But..."

Kuroko clenched his fist.

"We'll prove his words wrong."

Kagami smirked. "You really hate losing, huh?" Kuroko shook his head.

"No, it's just..." He trailed off. "Our senpais are not weak."

"Well I won't argue with that, but I hate losing too." The redhead gripped the empty can hard, crumpling it into a lump of metal. Then he threw the piece of trash to a bin a few metres away from their seat, creating a slighty curved arc along its trail towards the bin.

"We'll defeat them, those Kings of Tokyo."

It went in. Kuroko smiled. It seemed like he wouldn't have to worry about his partner

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Today's the day._

It was an understatement to say that Kagami was excited.

He was thrilled. He couldn't wait any more second for the matches to start. Besides, matches against two out of the three Kings of Tokyo? Sure only one school had their hands on one of the Generation of Miracles named Midorima Shintaro, but even Kagami wouldn't underestimate Seiho.

However, there's one thing that annoyed him. Insomnia (from overexcitement).

He pinched the bridge between his nose, sighing. It happened again. He almost didn't sleep at all and now the headache was teasing every single cells in his pathetic excuse of a brain.

Kagami decided to thank whoever god he knows for the twenty minutes of nap in the bus while on his way to the gymnasium with the other Seirin members. The redhead stretched his arms, mouth opening wide with a yawn. He noticed his blue haired friend staring at him blankly.

"What?" He asked, scratching his still-blury eyes.

"Kagami-kun should really stop sleeping so late, it could affect the game." Kuroko said.

"I tried, I swear. It's not like I don't want to sleep at all, dammit! I" Kagami yelled with his hands gripping his red locks hard out of frustration and headache. He was saying the truth. He went to bed at eleven PM but for some reason his system only decided to shut down at four AM at the very least.

"Ah, whatever. Even though I only got less than three hours of sleep I still can crush Seiho and Shuutoku. Just you wait!" He shouted to no one in particular, earning a blank look from the shorter boy.

"Well I suggest you really need to prove your words, Kagami-kun. The coach and the seniors won't endure your jokes today." The latter replied, eyes now fixed upon the more veteran members of their basketball team.

He followed Kuroko's gaze, and realized how tense the seniors were. No puns and jokes from Izuki. No yells from Hyuuga or coach. No chit-chats between everyone.

The atmosphere continued until they reached the court for practice. Uncomfortable with the current situation, Kagami idly looked around the gymnasium until he spot a familiar green haired boy.

Midorima Shintaro.

Ah, he couldn't really wait to face that glassed bastard –

_Whack! _

"Ow! What was that for – "

"You got your eyes on the wrong person, idiot."

It was Hyuuga. And Kagami realized that was the first sentence the former said to him. Hyuuga's visage was normal – well, Hyuuga-normal; the usual frown, the usual eyebrow-furrow, the usual Hyuuga. Perhaps now he wasn't as tense as before.

The older male continued to scold him about paying attention to their current opponent when someone called him. Turning his head, he saw a certain bald-head from Seiho.

"Whoa, you look scarier than in the videos!" Tsugawa Tomoki laughed, and he called out, "Senpai! This is the guy, right? Seirin is weak, but they have only one strong guy."

_What the hell!_ Kagami almost hit the blunt boy when Hyuuga held him back, and at the same time a giant male grabbed Tsugawa's back. It was Iwamura, Seiho's captain. At first he apologized for his freshman's attitude, but later Kagami found out that Iwamura was just as awful as Tsugawa.

"We weren't looking down on you. You were weak, that's all."

Those words seemed to haunt him until he and his teammates reached the locker room.

They were back to square one. Everyone was silent. And it was obvious that they were pessimist about the match. The tension didn't falter, it became thicker, so thick - and Kagami thought it was the right time to use the phrase - that he could cut it with a knife.

Coach tried to divert their attention by trying to cheer them up with thoughts of reward or whatsoever, only to gain annoyed remarks from the stressed basketball players. But when she suddenly yelled whilst choking in tears , Kagami couldn't help but startle himself.

"Get your asses together! You want revenge, right?! Then believe in yourselves! What was that one year of training's worth if you can't prove it now?!"

Much to his surprise, that gained some smiles from the older members. They suddenly all laughed, trying to make Riko stop her rambles.

After that, Hyuuga convinced everyone – especially the freshmen – that now they were more confident to win the match, unlike last year.

Kagami listened to the short speech although he was already itching to go to the court and play the hell out of Seiho. He rolled his eyes with an inaudible grumble when he realized the shorter boy beside him staring at their captain intently, seemingly bewitched by his words.

As they left the locker room, Kagami turned his head to see Kuroko left behind, not moving an inch from the door.

"Kuroko? What's wrong?"

"Kagami-kun…"

His pair of reds stared at the bluenette, the latter expression unusually grim. Kuroko was known for his flat expression, so for him to show up what he was feeling was peculiar and rare.

"Have you ever hated basketball?"

He quirked an eyebrow.

"Nah, never. Why?"

Kuroko looked away from his stare; his aquamarine eyes dark and empty - he suddenly chuckled.

"I have."

A chill went down Kagami's nerves.

"What...?"

He continued to chuckle - each breath coming out of his mouth sounded strained. Craning his neck up, he stared at nothing.

"It was painful," He murmured. "Loathing something you love. I sort of understand what the seniors felt."

The redhead could only say nothing. Never once he had seen Kuroko like this; like he was desperate, and... Broken. But underneath his pity, Kagami could feel himself shrunk before the shorter teen. Goosebumps creeping on his skin and he could only question himself. Was Kuroko frightening him? That was unlikely.

"Maybe the reason was different, but more or less we felt the same thing. Right now, we just want to prove ourselves to our past self. Sure, the past and the future are not the same... But they are not completely seperate either."

The light blue head fixed his gaze upon Kagami's.

"This match must be important to them. That's why we have to win."

Kagami blinked owlishly, all thoughts and doubts about the bluenette disappeared and his nerves finally calmed down, before smirking at the shorter teen. In the end he couldn't fully comprehend Kuroko's words. But whether it was merely a coated reason of an revenge, or just seniors wanting to prove that they had polished their skills, Kagami only understood one thing.

_Win._

"I already know that, idiot."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Kuroko was beyond confused.

Revenge. The word was never a stranger to him ever since his last year of middle school. It related heavily to hate and anger – to wrath.

But why did Hyuuga say it like it was nothing?

Kuroko saw the way their spirit waned when almost ten minutes had passed in the first quarter but Seirin hadn't scored even a point. Hyuuga, Izuki, Mitobe. Kuroko saw their faces. They were full of trauma – of fear of the rising possibility that last year's occurrence could happen again that day.

But the moment Kagami dunked the first ball, they all changed. Their frowns turned into smiles. Their tension slowly loosened and Seirin had finally awakened.

At first they were just baby steps, but the moment Hyuuga conversed with Seiho's captain, Kuroko knew the second years just took a huge leapt.

"We got over it." Said Hyuuga to Iwamura.

About last year's trauma, about the massive defeat. They really did get over it. And now they were ready to win. They were ready to have their revenge.

However, Kuroko still couldn't believe it.

Revenge wouldn't create those expressions.

Hyuuga's face were confident – even to the point of almost smug. The other's faces were the same – even he could see the smugness in Mitobe's stoic expression.

Revenge didn't create those. Revenge created tension, anger, and wrath. But Seirin's revenge didn't.

They created hope.

Hope to practice harder, hope to improve their skills. Hyuuga's three points, Izuki's eagle-eye, Mitobe's hook shots, even Koganei and Tsuchida's improvements. Their sole base of motivation was actually born from revenge.

Kuroko gaped upon seeing Hyuuga's three point flushed through the net, followed by a loud screeching from the bell, announcing their victory against Seiho.

The seniors laughed and jumped together in happiness, smiles and tears of joy (mainly from the coach) decorating their celebration. They even managed to make Koganei almost pass out _again_ from the never-ending spins they did. It was official. They just took a huge step away from their past – from their trauma.

Kuroko smiled sadly. He was jealous. Even though he had defeated Kise, he knew he still had a long way to go to get over his _own_ past.

And when he finally did, when he finally took a step beyond his trauma, Kuroko didn't even know what would await him.

_Perhaps it was happiness?_

He smiled wryly.

_How unlikely._

* * *

**A/N: Uh…Hi? I'm so sorry for weeks without any update. Actually I went out of the town for a whole week of vacation. And I didn't get any time to write there, even though I brought my phone with me, so… Sorry? :(**

**Also I apologize for this unsatisfying chapter (at least for me). I'm currently writing the fourth one, and I hope I could finish it before Thursday cause I'll be out on vacation _again. _This chapter focuses on Kuroko's view on his team-mates, especially on his upperclassmen in Seirin. It's a little boring, I know. But I think it's still important for their bonds in the future. The next chapter will be Seirin vs Shuutoku, I promise there will be some more action. Please look forward to it!**

**OH AND PEOPLE, you guys don't know what those reviews, favorites, and follows did to me do you. I mean, oh my gosh. It's a pleasant surprise, really. Like suddenly every stats rose and so many new favs, follows, reviews, whoa. Okay I don't know what to say except thank you very much for the support. I will do my best to please you guys with the future chapters. Once again, thank you!**

**Review replies to Anons:**

**-NoImagination: I think you're right. The more I write the more I realize that Kuroko's MTD is actually pretty similar to Akashi's. Maybe only a little bit of difference, lol. Thank you for the review!**

**-Nony: Thank you!:)**

**P.S: From what I've seen from the reviews, a lot of people actually root for Kuroko (and Dark!Kuroko). It seems like you guys hate the GoM so much and I find it quite hilarious XD**

**P.P.S: I changed the story summary!**

**Crackers x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimers: I do not own KuroBas**

**Warnings: Dark!Kuroko**

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**The Other Voice**

_Chapter Four_

_Respect_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

4:50 PM.

It was only ten minutes until the final preliminary match between Shuutoku High and Seirin High. Both teams had exited their respective locker rooms, now leaving for the court. In Seirin's room, two teenagers were still there, their other teammates had already left. Only a few minutes ago both of them were sleeping, but now one of them was waking up the other.

"Kuroko, oi, Kuroko. Wake up, dammit, the upperclassmen have left already." Kagami Taiga said to his partner, Kuroko Tetsuya, who still had his eyes closed. The taller teen shook his shoulders, and finally an almost inaudible groan greeted him.

"Let's go," The red head said impatiently, his figure motioning to leave the room first. As his friend struggled to wake himself, Kagami stepped out of the room, closing the door with a thud.

Diregarding his previous act of being sleepy, Kuroko opened his eyes almost immediately. Getting up from the bench, he straightened his legs. Next he examined his hands, moving each fingers fluidly. He chuckled. It had been quite a long time since _he_ got a hold on this body. Tetsuya had been quite a stubborn boy; never once he made a gap for _him_ to slip in. But that match against Seiho seemed to tire him and thus gave _him_ a chance when Tetsuya fell asleep.

_Tick tock _

The faint sound of clock ticking grew louder as silence consumed the room. He glanced at the said clock; ah, only a few minutes until the match begun.

_Tick tock_

It's time, he thought. Time for the weak to be devoured. For the untold grudge to be voiced. For the smiles of the opponents to be turned upside down. For Tetsuya to _win_. He could practically hear Tetsuya's soft breathing in his head, now sleeping inside their shared body. That's right. Tetsuya should rest. Because now _he_ would take care of everything.

'Kuroko' exited the room, walking rather fast to catch up on his partner. The minute he caught up with Kagami, the latter immediately scolded him for taking so many time, then Kagami asked him,

"You're ready, Kuroko?"

He smiled darkly.

"Of course."

**.**

**.**

**.**

The final round of Interhigh preliminaries finally began. The first few minutes were spent by both teams to decide who would take over the first quarter, and when Shuutoku finally earned their first point with courtesy of Midorima, Seirin surprised them with a quick comeback by Kuroko's court-cutting pass. With that tactic, Seirin seemed to have locked Midorima's movements and kept fighting to take over the first round. And every time Shuutoku tried to make a move, Kuroko always managed to slip in between their passes with his almost invisible presence.

However he knew it wasn't enough. Within any minute by now, Shuutoku would find a way to gain their power back. His passes wouldn't be enough. Besides...

He still had a word to prove.

His eyes found Midorima's form. The latter was still individualist as ever. He knew his co-operation with Kagami wouldn't prove anything about his team-play. Midorima said so himself right after he bragged about his successful team-work with Kagami. He needed something. A way to prove his beliefs.

Suddenly he saw a black-haired teen in front of him. It seemed like Takao had begun to mark him. He stayed silent as the other teen greeted him almost too cheerfully,

"So we finally faced each other, Shin-chan would say it's a fate."

Ah.

_Found it_

He smirked inwardly. If he were talking about team play, where's the better place to start other than the _team_ itself?

**.**

**.**

**.**

The moment Takao faced Kuroko Tetsuya directly, he knew it wouldn't be a friendly relationship. When coach Nakatani told him to mark number eleven from Seirin, he almost lost a grip to refrain himself from smiling so wide it would create questions from his teammates. It was purely personal after all. It was his own curiosity about 'Shin-chan's former teammate'. And apparently, rumor has it that this boy had some special skill; boy did that court-cutting pass surprise him along with his so-called 'misdirection' too.

But he wouldn't let a shorty like him to take over the spotlight easily like that. They even said something about 'Midorima has been shut down'.

He'd show them _who_ should have been shut down.

"So we finally faced each other, huh." Takao began. "Shin-chan would say it's a fate. But I wouldn't argue with him about that. We do have a lot of things in common, don't we? We're both freshmen, we both have a strong guy as our partner – not that Shin-chan would admit that, though. He's a bit shy," – he chuckled – "And guess what? I'm sort of good a passing too. But maybe that's why I hate you. I really don't want to lose to you, you know?"

Of course it wouldn't be a friendly relationship; he just practically declared war to Kuroko's face! Takao internally laughed. Well, not that he planned to have a nice, cozy one from the start.

"…You're annoying."

He blinked.

"I don't like you too. You're too annoying and chatty." The light blue haired boy said, eyes narrowing. But then a small yet confident smirk molded on his lips. "But I don't want to lose either, especially to the likes of you."

That surprised and unexpectedly irked him. From what he had seen from their past interaction – and from what he heard from Midorima, Kuroko was a rigid person with blank expression, monotonous voice and a somewhat polite way of speaking. The person before him was not like that. It was almost the exact opposite.

Maybe he did annoy Kuroko that much.

Quickly, with a returned composure, he only grinned back in reply. "Now that's the spirit."

Takao immediately proved his skill, and did Kuroko's current expression satisfied him. Heh. It seemed like he had finally recognized the existence of his Eagle Eye.

Takao just blocked his seemly invisible pass, and he succeeded to repeat it twice. And by his self-proclaimed assistance, Midorima managed to steal a few three points for Shuutoku. While Takao smirked in satisfaction, he didn't see Kuroko's reaction to all chaos he just created for Seirin.

Kuroko was definitely _not_ amused.

**.**

**.**

**.**

At the beginning of the second half, Seirin finally decided to bench Kuroko Tetsuya. His invisible passes didn't work on Shuutoku thanks to Takao, and Midorima realized how angry the former was as he saw him sitting on the bench.

Honestly speaking, anger was not one of Kuroko's usual traits, so to see him in that particular condition actually surprised Midorima.

But he admitted he was satisfied. He knew from the very start that Takao could block Kuroko, and he had warned them earlier. But they finally understood the situation they were in right now. Seirin will lose and Shuutoku will win. He would finally prove it to Kuroko that team play couldn't get him anywhere near victory.

Until then he would shoot as many three points as he could, block every attack his opponent did, and he wouldn't stop until the score gap grew high until a comeback wasn't going to be possible in any way.

Suddenly a ball went to his hands, and immediately he went into his shooting position. Angling his arms, he aimed the goal which was located quite far from where he was standing. He straightened his bended knees, jumped, and prepared to throw the orange ball into where it belonged to. When he knew he wouldn't miss, he released the ball.

A flash of red suddenly flooded his vision.

It was Kagami. He appeared all of a sudden in front of him, trying to stop his shot. Thankfully it was left undisturbed, and another three points were added to the King of East's score. But Midorima couldn't help but notice that later on, Kagami's jumps were getting higher and higher.

And when Kagami's fingers finally scratched the ball he was about to shoot, Midorima almost choked. How did he reach such height? And his jumps – they were starting to be ridiculous!

Kagami did the jumps again repeatedly until he finally blocked Midorima's shot. Kagami grabbed the ball, and threw it away from the green head's hands. When Midorima turned to glare at him, Kagami only stared back at nothing in particular. But the fiery ambition in his eyes was visible and his thoughts were so loud in his head he thought they'd be audible to the others.

He wanted to be strong, stronger, and stronger. Even though Kuroko might not be able to help him – just like the current situation – he would still fight, and he's going to snatch the victory with his _own_ hands.

The red head panted, wiping off the sweat off his forehead. He could feel it, the newly found strength in his legs. The new weapon he could use to defeat Midorima – to win against Shuutoku. He would be fine even though Kuroko was not with him. Even if he were alone, he would win – no,

He'd prove that he could win by his own.

(He didn't see Kuroko glaring at him murderously.)

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Kagami, you're too worked up, cool your head off," Izuki said to the younger boy beside him. The third quarter just ended and by that time their muscles were starting to weaken. They were all panting, but Kagami looked out of breath. The way the redhead's shoulder heaved up and down more looked like someone who was angry and looking for a fight than someone who was fatigued from a sport.

Hyuuga sighed. "Yeah, you should have known it wasn't the time to attack, you should have passed - "

"So what if I didn't pass the ball?" Kagami murmured.

"Huh?"

"Look, the only one who's on par with Shuutoku is me. We don't need team play right now. We need _me_ to score."

The members of Seirin basketball team reacted immediately. Most were scowling at their Ace's attitude. "What the hell Kagami - we don't have time to deal with you being selfish like this!"

The next thing happened so fast like a blur - Kuroko's fist met Kagami's face and when they realized it the latter was already on the ground.

Spontaneously Kagami tried to get up but a hand stopped him; gripping his shoulders tightly. He looked up only to stare right into Kuroko's angry eyes.

"Look what we have here... Are you playing superheroes, Kagami-kun?" He drawled. His voice brought chills to his teammates, and some of them noticed how Kuroko didn't use his usual polite way of talking anymore. "You think we could win just as long as we give it all to you? With you playing by yourself?"

Kagami jumped from the floor to Kuroko, he grabbed the boy's shirt by its collar, pulling him upwards by the act. "So what do you suggest, we play all nicely and work together? That's not gonna be enough! Are you okay with losing as long as everyone enjoys playing? HUH?!"

He could hear Kuroko sigh. "Okay… So team work isn't going to work. Alright, play by yourself then. I'll be watching." He said, releasing himself from Kagami's grip. Kuroko walked away from the redhead, but he turned once again glaring daggers at him, "But listen, if you ever win, don't you _ever_ come to celebrate with us."

"W-What?!"

"It's your win, not ours." Kuroko drawled, sitting down on the bench. "You see, Kagami-kun, the Generation of Miracles don't celebrate together too, you know. There's nothing to celebrate. No team play. No togetherness. It's not even _fun_ to them. What's to celebrate? Individualism? Selfishness? That's more likely. So I conclude that we don't need to celebrate together, it's _your_ victory after all."

Upon seeing Kagami's dumb-struck expression, Kuroko only smirked.

"Keep playing by yourself, Kagami-kun. Don't forget to have _fun_."

Silence ensued upon them. Kagami was silent. Kuroko was satisfied. The other members were too shocked to say anything. The quietness went for a few moments longer until Koganei decided to stop it.

"W-well, it's not like we don't want to win, Kagami. But basketball is a _team_ sport, right?"

Hyuuga tapped his shoulder. "You have anything else to say?"

Kagami was speechless, and he didn't even know why. Whether it was because Kuroko's sudden change of attitude or because how his words succeeded to corner him, he didn't know. But Kuroko was right. If he won, it wouldn't be Seirin's victory, but it's his victory. And when Kuroko told him to have fun – what fun could be achieved by playing by himself? What kind of victory was he thinking back then? A lonesome victory? No. He didn't want that. He wanted to win with Seirin – with Kuroko. How stupid he was when he thought he could win alone. He should have realized the moment he found out about his weapon - his jumps - he needed to utilize it properly by planning it with the team, not using it mindlessly by himself.

Kagami was immediately awakened from his stupor. He stuttered, guilt was clear in his voice. "Well, no… I-I'm sorry. Of course it'll be much better if we win this together."

Upon hearing those words out of his mouth, he could see Kuroko suddenly stared at him; the latter's previous expression of anger was gone. It was back to his usual one; blank. Kagami's mouth went open but he quickly closed it and glared at him. "What are you looking at?" He asked nervously, still a bit ashamed from earlier.

Kuroko turned away from him, walking over to the coach to say his desire to play in the last quarter. Kagami let out a quiet 'tsk' before went talking to Hyuuga to apologize for his behavior earlier, so he couldn't see Kuroko's amused expression towards him.

Kuroko smirked.

He started to understand Tetsuya's choice in his new light.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Kuroko-kun, have you found a way to stop Takao-kun?"

"Sort of. This pass is different from my usual, and I think now Kagami-kun can catch it."

"Really? I'll leave Takao-kun to you then."

Kuroko only nodded indifferently. When the referee announced the fourth quarter had begun, he went to his position, and soon he saw Takao heading to guard him. The moment Takao reached him, he whistled. "That's a good one, what you did to Kagami." He snickered. "But I think now I understand why Shin-chan respects you so much."

That perked Kuroko's attention. _Midorima's respect..._

"You really are something-" Takao started to blabber again.

"I see." Kuroko cut off his words, confusing him. Takao's eyebrow rose as he saw the shorter boy before him smiled at him almost sweetly – and when he felt chills creeping up his skin he decided to lean back. But Kuroko only leaned forward to him, the disturbing smile still on his face. His mouth opened and he spoke, words coming out as nothing more than a whisper -

"You want Midorima to acknowledge you, don't you?"

Takao's eyes grew wide.

"Ah, jackpot. I know precisely what you're thinking, Takao-kun. And now I finally know _exactly_ why you hate me so much. It's because we're practically the same just like you said – but we're also different. Our difference is that Midorima actually respects _me_, but not _you_." Kuroko laughed, his tone low and heavily mocking him. Takao immediately snapped out of his stupor. No, he's wrong. Midorima didn't – _Shin-chan didn't _–

He laughed, trying his best to cover his growing nervousness.

"What are you saying? Midorima respects me of course. He respects the whole team." He reasoned out. And he believed his own words. Of course that arrogant greenhead respected them! If he didn't, he wouldn't look cornered every time the captain threatened him. He wouldn't even let Takao rode the same vehicle with him. Midorima respected him. He –

"He only saw you as a mere tool." Kuroko said, seemingly to have read his mind. And after hearing those words Takao couldn't help but feel the sudden twist his stomach did. His mind blurred. No, Midorima is not like that.

"You're just a tool. A tool to defeat everyone else, a stepping stone for him to be the best. Come on now, Takao-kun, don't be naïve. Even though you only know him for a few months, we both know what he's like, right?"

Yes, Takao had started to understand Midorima's personality by now; he's weird, he has his own quirks with those horoscope and lucky item stuffs, he's crazy confident about his ridiculous three point shots and he –

"He's selfish, arrogant," – Kuroko then snickered – "He even told me that team play is useless. So why should he respect you? It doesn't make any sense, does it?"

Takao's mind was a mess. To be honest, he loathed Midorima. Damn, that guy is arrogant as hell, but he's very talented as well. Takao admitted that he envied the prodigy. But sometimes he only wanted his acknowledgement. He wanted Midorima to see him as his _equal_.

"Hey, Takao-kun," The light blue head said in a sing-song voice. "So you finally realized how useless you are to Midorima? Or perhaps to the whole team?"

Flabbergasted, he sputtered, "What the hell – I'm not useless! Fine, maybe Midorima doesn't recognize me yet, but at least my teammates need me. They _need_ me to fight you!"

"Oh I forgot… You have that hawk-eye, huh? That's why they still need you." Kuroko drawled as his fingers rubbed his chin, seemingly in deep thought. Suddenly his aquamarine eyes grew wide and he snapped his fingers. "I got it!"

Spontaneously Takao moved back, trying to distance himself from Kuroko – but he got his arm gripped tightly, and Kuroko whispered in his ear,

"What if I pierce your eyes? Will you be useless by then?"

He froze. But before he could visibly react to Kuroko's words he heard another laugh.

"I'm just kidding!" At that moment, the ball passed right in front of them and Kuroko immediately jumped to pass it to his teammate. And all the while, Takao was frozen to his toes. But when he was out of his stupor, his condition didn't get any better.

After that Takao's play was nothing but mess; his passes missed, he couldn't detect Kuroko's location anymore, hell, he couldn't even use his hawk-eye properly. When Otsubo – who was oblivious to Kuroko's dirty trick to him – came up to scold him and threat him for subtitution, Takao could only beg for one more chance.

"I'll get that invisible boy, captain. Please." He pleaded, and finally Otsubo agreed. But his captain warned, if he failed once more, he'd be kicked out of the court. Takao gulped at the threat. Despite that, he was determined. He won't fall for Kuroko's words, not again. However when he faced Kuroko once again, he felt his determination waned. He dribbled the basketball warily, eyeing the light blue haired boy before him who suddenly smiled again.

"Yo, Takao-kun. Did your coach tell you and your teammates to leave the offense all to Midorima?" He chuckled. "Look at you and your team… Struggling to pass the ball to him, and all you can do is to defend."

Takao gritted his teeth angrily and in his peripheral vision he could see his upperclassmen's unamused expressions, but Kuroko kept on mocking him.

"Do me a favor, ask your upperclassmen, or your captain perhaps. How does it feel, leaving everything to one prodigious freshman?"

Oh how Takao wanted to hit him in the face. Kuroko knew _nothing_ of their team. He didn't know how heavy it was to leave everything to Midorima. Deep down, none of them wanted to agree with their coach's decision. They are the _King of East_, damn it. They have their pride, and they wouldn't accept to be called that name for nothing. But now they had to leave the offense all to one single genius freshman. Takao might not understand the seniors' feelings; but he had a glimpse of how their pride was crushed under that decision.

And now, without understanding any of it, a boy from a no-name school suddenly appeared and mocked them like it was a funny joke. Maybe it was to him. But it was a humiliation for Shuutoku. He felt humiliated.

He couldn't take it anymore.

"…Shut up."

_You know nothing about us_

"Hm?"

"SHUT UP!" And he charged, the ball still in his hands. He continued on dribbling it before a _thump_ and a loud screeching of a whistle stopped him.

"Charging! White number ten!"

His eyes widened and he realized that he just pushed Kuroko to the ground. The latter got up from the floor, dusting off his jersey slightly before turning to look at him. Once again, Takao shivered upon catching his dark gaze. And when he was about to accuse him, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was his captain again.

"Takao, you're out."

He blinked. "What - ?"

"Shuutoku member substitution!" He saw as one of the second-years was already standing up from the bench, getting ready to replace him in the court. Panicked, he shouted at his captain.

"Otsubo-san please, you still need me and I can still play. Please. I-I was angered and-"

"Cool off your head first, Takao. You can't keep playing in that condition."

As Takao was forcefully dragged out from the court, from afar, Midorima stared at the scene incredulously.

_Takao…made a foul?_

* * *

**A/N: Phew. Finally made it. Overall, I'm not very proud of this chapter - it felt rushed, especially at the end, but I really like some of the parts in here. Dark!Kuroko is fun to write, I swear (insert evil laughter here). But well, what a cliffhanger, huh? Hehe. Actually, I planned to write the whole match in one chapter, but I think I've reached my limit. So, be patient for a little, okay?:)**

**AND OH DEAR WE FINALLY REACH 100+ FOLLOWERS! I can't thank you guys enough omg**

**Oh and I received an AMAZING fanart from the lovely Higanbana, please check it out! thebasketballidiots. tumblr post/ 90945634949/ (THIS IS MY FIRST TIME IN RECEIVING FANARTS YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY I AM)**

**Replies to anon:**

**NoImagination: Of course Seirin will be involved in helping Kuroko. Although I'm not quite sure about the GoM... Btw I don't if you realize it but all this time we've been pronouncing MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) as MTD which is wrong. /face palms/**

**Crackers xx**


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